Conventionally, a so-called active matrix display panel including a thin film transistor (hereinafter, a TFT) formed over a glass substrate has been manufactured by patterning various kinds of thin films in an exposure step using a photomask in the same manner as a technique for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit.
More specifically, a thin film pattern of a TFT has been formed as follows. After resist is applied over an entire surface of a substrate and the substrate is temporarily baked, the substrate is subjected to a photolithography step, wherein the substrate is irradiated with ultraviolet ray or the like through a mask pattern and developed to form a resist pattern. Subsequently, by utilizing the resist pattern as a mask, a film existing in a portion to be a thin film pattern (e.g., a thin film made from a semiconductor material, an insulating material or a conductive material), a semiconductor thin film, a metal thin film and the like are removed by etching so that the thin film pattern can be obtained.
Increasing the size of a substrate makes it impossible to process an entire surface of a display panel at once by one exposure treatment. As a result, following methods and the like have been developed. A region applied with photoresist is divided into plural parts and an exposure treatment is carried out for each predetermined block region continuously. Or, in the case of a small display panel, an entire surface of a substrate can be patterned relatively easily by using an exposure device (for example, see patent document 1).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 11-326951
Therefore, in order to reduce cost of equipment and simplify process, it is examined that a droplet discharging device is used for forming a thin film or a pattern of a wiring of a TFT in manufacturing a semiconductor device that includes a TFT.
Further, in order to improve the yield of a liquid used for forming a film, a technique for forming a film over a semiconductor wafer by using an apparatus that can continuously discharge resist into a linear shape through a nozzle is disclosed in patent document 2.
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-188251